


Gallop to Love

by shikicrown



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25026544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shikicrown/pseuds/shikicrown
Summary: Marianne von Edmund began her life as a student of Garreg Mach, her sadness makes her unreachable. But what she doesn't know is that she haven't her road to live and love yet.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Marianne von Edmund, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Marianne von Edmund
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

When Margrave Edmund ordered Marianne to assist Garreg Mach, she couldn’t be more against that decision. The only idea that she was going to be with more people made her mind flooded with anxiety. Despite her attempts to discourage the noble, in the end, Margrave Edmund had the last word.

"One day, you will inherit my title along with my responsibilities, so you must learn about the real world and how to interact with other people."

To assure her that everything will be fine, he promised that he will make sure that nobody will know about her Crest. Out of respect, she just accepted his decision. And when Marianne left Margravate of Edmund, her adopted father prayed to the Goddess to show her the road to happiness, because she deserved that and much more.

At the monastery, Marianne disliked the company of other people. Her Golden Deer classmates, mesmerized by her mysterious and elegant aura, invited her to some activities to know each other better, but she always declined every offer, after all, she preferred to spend her time at the stable, feeding the animals and grooming Dorte, a horse she met there, or praying to the Goddess. Soon, they just stopped trying, which made her feel a lot better.

“Why would people want to spend time with a worthless person?”

Some days later, the school received news that a new teacher would join Garreg Mach, a mercenary called Byleth, daughter from the former captain of the Knight of Seiros. When they first met, Marianne didn’t know what to say, especially because she has never interacted with a mercenary before.

“Perhaps if we talk too much, she will be hurt in one of her missions.”

But she was surprised that Byleth didn’t insist on talking to her, which she deeply appreciated. After that, the mercenary decided to join the Blue Lions class, hence Manuela and Hanneman became the Black Eagles and Golden Deer homeroom teachers, respectively. In the beginning, Marianne didn’t care who was going to be her teacher, but Hanneman seemed so obsessed with Crests that made her feel uneasy like he was always observing, piercing her walls.

Byleth always made time for everyone in Garreg Mach, maybe she saw everyone as their own students, inviting them to tea parties and meals, or she wanted to know everyone better so her strategies are more complete. Marianne was invited as well, despite she wanted to say no, that would make her the only one who refuses the new teacher’s invitations, and that would gather too much attention from other classmates, that idea was far worse. After spending some time together, she started to think that it wasn’t that bad, Byleth had a good intuition, she always chose Marianne’s favorite dishes that made her remember her adoptive father and those peaceful times at Margravate of Edmund, the tea was marvelous too, the sweet aroma of Cinnamon blend was delicious. The fact that Byleth was someone of very few words, made the time spent together pleasant. But something the young noble felt peculiar, is that every time she was invited to dinner, prince Dimitri, the heir of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, was also there.

After many rainy days, finally, on Saturday, the clouds released the Sun. Marianne preferred sunny days, it was because the pegasus and horses at the stable seemed happier with the warming light.

Not long after she arrived there, soon she noticed that some people were coming. It was Dimitri and Sylvain. Marianne thought about leaving that place before they got there, but she hasn’t finished brushing Dorte’s mane, so maybe if she remained silent, they would ignore her. Then, she realized that Sylvain was no longer in her view and it was only Dimitri.

“Hello, Marianne. Sorry if I interrupted you. The professor tasked me and Sylvain to train with our riding, but we did not know that it was scheduled today for the horses to be groomed,” he said formally. “I’ll come in another moment.”

“N-No,” replied Marianne apologetically. “It wasn’t scheduled. I am just brushing Dorte’s mane on my own, sorry for disturbing your training.”

After that, she tried to leave as soon as possible, but Dimitri quickly grabbed her arm which made Marianne look at him.

“Don’t, Marianne,” said Dimitri preoccupied. “It rained for many days; I am sure that Dorte is grateful to have your company.”

The prince was right, and he released Marianne’s arm. She looked at Dorte who seemed sad to have his friend leaving so soon.

“Th-Thanks,” she muttered, and went to Dorte and resumed her brushing.

“Don’t worry, and sorry for grabbing your arm without your consent,” apologized Dimitri with a bow.

Marianne did not how to respond that, so she remained silent.

“I asked Sylvain to wait at the hall, I am aware that you do not like to be around a multitude,” said Dimitri equipping the horses carefully. “Also, I heard that you love animals, there are rumors that you can understand bird language.”

“Th-That’s a misunderstanding. I can’t speak animals’ language,” answered Marianne a little bit nervous. “But I do like them.”

“Good, then I would like to present you someone,” the prince smiled as he came to Marianne accompanied by a beautiful white steed. Marianne was delighted by the view of such a gorgeous horse. “She’s Ellie, the descendant of our family’s steed from many generations. My father gifted her to me for my 14th birthday. She survived… the Tragedy of Duscur with me as at that moment she was just a filly. Since then, we have been inseparable.”

“I’m sorry for hearing that. She’s beautiful,” said Marianne, saddened by the story he told her.

“We will be now leaving, thank you for accompanying me. I’m sure that you and Ellie will be good friends too.”

With that, Dimitri left the stable with Ellie and another horse.

For the first time, Marianne felt a little bit warmer inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Since Byleth’s arrival, she has proven to be an excellent asset as a teacher and a strategist for the Knights of Seiros, earning the trust and admiration of most people in the monastery. With only a few days being there, she could analyze her new students perfectly, leading the Blue Lions to victory in the mock battle of the three classes in Great Tree Moon. Despite her initial lack of experience interacting with other people, the students received her with all her virtues and flaws, thanks to that, she could calm her class down during their first mission routing bandits since some of them have never been so close to death nor taken lives with their own hands.

When the new mission was assigned in Garland Moon, the Blue Lions’ teacher didn’t waste a second to make her new strategy. They only had to accompany the knights and that the legendary Thunder Catherine would be there, but by her travels with Jeralt, she knew that during that season of the year, near the Castle of Gaspard on Magdrad Way the fog was denser, she was worried that Mercedes wouldn’t be able to keep everyone safe. Fortunately, Seteth informed her she could ask a student from another class for help.

It wasn’t hard for Byleth to locate Marianne (since she memorized every student’s favorite place), she only had to check the stable before going to the cathedral to find her. There was the young blue-haired girl, with both hands firmly clasped, eyes closed, and praying with all her might. Byleth still didn’t fully understand why people prayed and much less know why she has heard nothing about Sothis as she was the only Goddess she knew or have met.

As the mercenary approached her, Marianne didn’t notice her presence until they were too close.

“P-Professor! Sorry, I didn’t see you…” stuttered Marianne, startled by the teacher’s presence. “Um, is something the matter? Am I on your way?”

“Hello, Marianne. I’m sorry to have disturbed your prayers,” Byleth apologized gently, with precaution not to make her uncomfortable. “Actually, I was looking for you. Do you have a second?”

“Y-Yes,” Marianne nodded and started wondering if she has done something wrong.

“I think the mission of this month for my class is too hard for our level, Mercedes is a really capable healer, but maybe it’s too much for her to be the only one taking care of the whole class and the knights. We could use two more hands for support. Can you assist us?” explained Byleth, hoping for a positive answer.

“M-Me?” asked the girl nervously. The thoughts of her misfortune started spreading across every corner of her mind. “My apologies, but I don’t think I will be of any help.”

“Quite to the contrary, nobody can do better than you. I was informed by Hanneman that you’ve already learned physic, which is impressive considering the short time you’ve been here,” she said, trying to convince her and stating the truth at the same time. “You can be behind the group healing on the distance, I won’t ask you for more.”

“B-But I have my mission to attend,” mentioned Marianne although it was just a mere excuse to refuse the request, though the teacher already thought about it.

“I don’t want to give you more load, but I can make an agreement with Hanneman about that,” Byleth could visualize the old teacher's tests that she will have to endure, but the worst of all was hearing his crests theories over and over again. “Undoubtedly he will approve.”

“Um... Have you asked somebody else?” asked the girl, already suffocating under her own self-loathing and awful thoughts.

“Well, no, not yet. Linhardt is brilliant too,” she answered recalling her previous interactions with the adrestrian. “Though I can tell your abilities…”

At that instant, Byleth realized how uncomfortable and torn Marianne was by her silence and felt bad and guilty for not noticing sooner the pressure she has been imposing onto the young student. It was still hard for her to comprehend other people's emotions.

“I’m sorry Marianne, I didn't mean to force you,” apologized Byleth profoundly, receiving a sigh as a reply. “I’ll ask Linhardt if he’s available. But tell me if you change your mind.”

With that, the teacher left the cathedral, giving Marianne the space she needed and resumed her praying right away. She asked Seiros why she gave such a curse on people? And why it had to be her ancestors? Why the Goddess gifted such a crest which could only bring misfortune? Every time she thought about these questions, like always, the Goddess would remain silent.

A few days later on Saturday, the three Officers Academy’s teachers organized an unofficial inter-class mock battle, only that this time there would be no guidance by their part and they would limit themselves to just observe, this had the purpose to challenge their students' abilities to plan strategies by their own in case no one was there to tell them what to do.

The Black Eagles were eager to win this battle and take their revenge after the humiliating defeat they received in Great Tree Moon by the Blue Lions in which Byleth with a single blow of her sword could beat Edelgard. Because of that, they trained harder than ever under Manuela’s tutelage for this moment before the Battle of the Eagle and Lion.

“The time has finally come to demonstrate the fruits of all our training,” exclaimed Ferdinand von Aegir with full determination accompanied by his characteristic laugh.

“That’s the energy, Ferdinand! They'll never see it coming. My blows are too fast for their eyes! Yaah!” shouted Caspar so hard that probably the whole monastery could hear it.

“I like your energy, Caspar, but I suggest you save it for the match. Remember our tactics, we must allow none of our weaknesses to be exposed,” stated Edelgard with elegance. She knew that this battle was a practice to train their improvisation to counterattack any ambush they may receive, so analyzing their opponents was pointless.

After she gave her short speech, without knowing why, as something within her compelled her to do it, she rolled her eyes and saw where the three teachers were, and by mere coincidence, her eyes and Byleth’s met, making the princess flustered just a bit.

The Golden Deer class, on the other hand, was not that thrilled. Lysithea, Raphael, and Leonie couldn’t hide their excitement to improve themselves, meanwhile, Claude was already devising his schemes to win effortlessly, thinking that perhaps he only needed to let the other classes fight and join them by the end when everyone stamina is low, but the others were just minding their own business.

“This is so much work. Why we all need to take part? I think we can make the most of this leaving it for those who want to fight,” commented Hilda with condescending voice, thinking that now she could at her quarters, relaxing and eating sweets, but no matter how much she complains about it, she knew she can’t get away from it.

“C’mon, Hilda, this way we can learn more about each other combat styles in battle without worrying too much about being harmed. This can be useful for the future,” said Ignatz, looking at the bright side.

“Yes, my muscles crave for more training!” shouted Raphael. “I just hope I don't have to fight Dimitri again. Last time’s bruises took weeks to heal,” he mumbled with a lower voice than his usual, making sure that the prince didn’t hear him.

Marianne who was also there, although not voluntarily, was somewhat far from her classmates, holding her hands hoping this to end soon. Then she was approached by Hilda who was looking for her.

“Marianne, is something bothering you?” asked the pink-haired girl, sincerely worried for her friend. “I can tell that you are more distressed lately.”

“Is that so?” answered the healer silently, closing her eyes, not believing that she couldn’t even hide her pain.

“Geez, everyone must have noticed already. Honestly, I don’t even know how you can bear being sad the whole day. You need something to brighten your day. After this match, you will accompany me to the dining hall and eat a Peach Sorbet together, don’t forget it!” ordered Hilda, which made Marianne taken aback, and before she could even refuse the invitation, Hilda was already gone, leaving her with no more option than go.

The Blue Lions were ready to defend their first-place title. Byleth gave them rigorous training schedules to improve their techniques, also put extra effort into teaching them how to fight as a team instead of each one heading on their own. During the mock battle, the mercenary couldn’t but notice that everyone relied too much on their strength, letting themselves open for any attack to their rear.

“Remember what the professor taught us. We can win this battle just like the previous one. I can feel our improvement,” said Dimitri as a speech to motivate the rest of the class.

“Hmph, we may have improved, but a boar as our leader will take us to nowhere,” taunted Felix, emphasizing his disrespect towards the prince. “I don’t need your shallow words. I don’t intend to lose anyways. This is a chance to satiate the hunger of my sword.”

“Hm? Your Highness, you forgot to take off your shoulder bag,” notified Annette and pointed to his belonging. “You sure don’t want to lose it in our fight.

“Oh, you are right, thank you, Annette,” the prince removed the pouch and left it on a side of the training grounds.

“I see that sometimes you can be clumsy too,” mocked Sylvain at him, making Dimitri laugh.

After the three classes formed their positions, Manuela indicated the start. The Golden Deer took the first move and began shooting at both classes at the same time trying to hit at the mages first. Dedue reacted quickly to shield Mercedes and Annette with no shortcomings, like he already knew what was coming, meanwhile Dorothea casted a Fire, turning those arrows into ashes. The shootings stopped after the melee fighters started to clash.

When the mock battle ended, it proved to be a complete success. The teachers started discussing right away from their performance and were delighted to learn that their students have improved so much. They have shown their enhanced prowess, making themselves feel proud, except for just one individual, Marianne. Hanneman, of course, wasn’t happy of this as her homeroom teacher, after congratulating the Golden Deer, he approached the girl to ask her why she did nothing for her comrades during the match, but before he could get to her, Byleth stopped him and asked him for a moment of privacy.

“I need to talk with miss Marianne, if you excuse me,” the old teacher tried to dismiss the mercenary right away, but Byleth didn’t budge.

“This is all my fault. Give her some time first. I’ll talk to her,” said the mercenary guiltily.

“Did something happen between both of you?” he inquired certainly angry at the situation, but after considering how new she was as a professor and that until now she hasn’t made a single mistake, he just sighed. “I understand that sometimes inexperience can lead to issues. I will let you both solve them. But I expect an explanation for later.”

With that said, Hanneman left the training grounds thinking about what he can do for the young noble. Byleth turned to speak to her, but not so much for the teacher’s surprise she was nowhere to find. Could it be that she heard their conversation? Or perhaps she’s just too tired of everything that happened lately? Maybe it was better to leave the conversation for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, near the central hall, Marianne took another route to the stables to evade her Golden Deer classmates who should be heading to the dining hall. It was already a habit for her to visit Dorte every Saturday but due to the match she couldn’t get there on time, she was wondering if her friend was mad because of her lateness, maybe with some carrots, he will forgive her.

The words of her homeroom teacher and Byleth’s were resonating within her mind. All she wanted to do was fail in front of the mercenary, that way she would give up on her and never ask for her help ever again, but she didn’t realize that her actions just let her classmates down on such an important activity.

“Oh, Marianne,” a male voice reached her, startling the young noble.

Clearly, her plan has failed completely, thinking that now she had to confront her consequences, she turned around to see who it was.

“Dimitri?” asked the girl taken aback, but somehow, she felt much more relaxed knowing that it was him and not someone else.

“Are you heading to the stables? I am going there as well. If it does not bother you, we can go together,” said the prince, smiling at her. “I brought some seeds too, both Ellie and Dorte loves this kind.”

“H-How do you know?” she inquired a bit surprised.

“Since that day we met on the stable, every time I visit Ellie with treats, I also give some to Dorte. It would not be right of me if I don’t share with a friend of a friend,” answered the prince politely. “Even now I think he considers me a friend too. He is very good at listening. I see why you both talk so much.”

After hearing those words, a small smile sprang from Marianne, though she didn’t notice it, what she could feel was unmistakably that warmness again like the last time they were together.

The way to the stables was silent, but Dimitri wasn’t even a little bit bothered by it, after all the meals he shared with her and the professor, he understood that Marianne preferred not to talk to humans. When they finally got there, he opened the door and invited the young noble to enter first.

“Dorte, I am sorry for being so late,” she walked to the horse and started petting his face right away.

Dimitri went to Ellie and petted her as well, taking the seeds out of his shoulder bag and serving them to her with kindness. After she ate them eagerly, he went to Dorte and offered him some.

“Thank you, Dimitri,” said Marianne gratefully.

“Don’t worry. I enjoy seeing them so happy,” replied the prince. “There is something I want to ask you.”

“Wh-What is it?” she asked distressed, but she already knew what he was going to say, without a doubt, he would talk to her about the match.

“During our mock battle, I noticed that your class’ performance has improved more since our last fight in terms of prowess, but somehow, they lasted less,” stated Dimitri, looking right into her eyes, making her incline her head. “Our battle in Great Tree Moon I fought against Raphael, I was faster than him due to our physical build, but it took me several blows to defeat him, this time though, with one single strike I brought him down.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Yes, with this I see how talented you are,” concluded the prince.

“How did you reach this conclusion?”

“There was a great difference between our mock battles. The Golden Deer stamina was much lower. This means that only you are supporting your whole class and what is more noticeable is how much more they can fight because of you.”

“Every healer does the same,” she said harshly at him.

“Every healer can heal, but every person is different. I can see the effort you make to keep everyone at their best. How you went to the front lines with no fear to ensure the safety of your classmates. In fact, I would love to have you in our class, sometimes I can get reckless and charge at my enemies without thinking, with you, I know that I would be safe.”

Marianne was speechless. How did he know so much about her without being from the same class? Did he learn all that from the mock battle in Great Tre Moon? Is it true that Dimitri wants her to be his teammate?

“D-Did the professor asked you to tell me this?”, inquired Marianne suspicious of him.

“The professor? I believe not, I don’t remember her asking me to talk to you or something of sorts,” he answered pretty much confused. “I just wanted to tell you my observations. Sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“N-No, it is fine. The professor asked me to assist your class for this month’s mission. I thought that she sent you to convince me,” she replied wondering why he wasted his time telling her all this.

“Really? That would be great,” he said enthusiastically. “She didn’t tell us anything about recruiting someone else from another class, but I would love to have you as my comrade.”

Marianne was once again speechless. In her eyes, Dimitri has always been a very honest person, he genuinely meant to want to do this together. Perhaps doing just a mission with him won’t hurt anyone. In the end, going to her class’ mission or his implies the same thing: being in battle.

On the next day right in the morning, Byleth was heading to the cathedral, but then she heard someone who was calling out for her. Making her see her surroundings. By her surprise, it was Marianne.

“Professor!”, said the young noble, huffing after running to her, Byleth was unexpectedly fast even when walking. “C-Can I assist you with your mission this month?”


End file.
